A predominant storyline during draft season was that all the depth was on the infield. Position scarcity was a concern of the past. You couldn't go wrong at second or third base.
But outfield, at least compared to past years, was a position you wanted to fill early.
What a difference six weeks makes.
Seems like every breakout so far this year has been for an outfielder -- or at least a player eligible there. They've become so expendable that every time a new breakout candidate emerges on the waiver wire, it's almost exhausting trying to figure out how to squeeze him onto your roster, much less into your lineup.
@mattnotaro_717 @heathcummingssr @CTowersCBS I would say theoretically he could be a top-15 outfielder ... which is probably true for about 50 outfielders overall.
— Scott White (@CBSScottWhite) May 10, 2017
It's how the No. 3 hitter for the second-best offense in baseball -- a seven-time All-Star on a 31-homer, 99-RBI pace who presently boasts .287/.406/.552 slash line -- is owned in only 58 percent of CBS Sports leagues. Who has room for Matt Holliday in a year when another Eric Thames appears out of thin air seemingly every week?
So understand that when I recommend adding a bunch of outfielders here -- some of the same we've been hyping all week -- I recognize we're having to contend with a roster crunch at this point.
Perhaps, then, you should consider consolidating a couple of your bigger-name outfielders -- the ones you actually drafted, I mean -- for a starting pitcher or something, freeing up a roster spot to continue to exploit the excess.
So I know Heath Cummings recommended Aaron Altherr just yesterday, but two homers later, the 26-year-old's 48 percent ownership rate seems all the more ridiculous. I liked him as a sleeper heading into last year, but he broke his wrist that spring and never got back on track. Having worked to shorten his swing this spring, his raw tools are beginning to play up, making a 30-homer, 20-steal season (but more like 25 and 15) a real possibility.
Another guy you're probably tired of hearing about, Yonder Alonso remains unowned in one-third of CBS Sports leagues (and who knows how many on some of the other sites that cater to smaller leagues), and he's not even part of the outfield glut. As the Brewers did with Eric Thames, the Athletics have come to realize that Alonso needs to be playing against both right-handers and left-handers, and the face of the fly-ball revolution is looking like someone you'll never be compelled to sit. Pick him up already.
Again, I get it. I've seen Corey Dickerson dropped in some of my shallower leagues and have been unable to free up a roster spot for him myself. That is crazy since we were all tripping over ourselves in pursuit of this guy's potential a couple years ago and he's now doing the very things we hoped and dreamed he would, including his two-hit game Wednesday that gave him a .328 batting average to go along with a 27-homer pace. I'm sending out my best 2-for-1 offers to clear a spot for him.
Is he likely to stay healthy at age 37? No. Can he honestly sustain a .382 BABIP? Doubtful. But whatever regression is coming for Jayson Werth he'll partially counteract by way of RBI correction. Even with the Nationals on a near-record pace for runs scored, Werth is in line for just 52 RBI, which is sure to improve. He may not leave as much to the imagination as Altherr or Alonso, but with a .480 (12 for 25) batting average and three home runs in his last six games, he's at least a hot-hand play and, at 34 percent ownership, is available even in some deeper leagues.
Chances are if you don't need outfield help, you at least need pitching, but the scarcity there makes all of Wednesday's standouts (unless you trust German Marquez, with his Coors Field home) too owned to recommend here. But Jose Berrios still has a top-prospect pedigree and has regained enough of the Twins' trust that he was at least an option to start Saturday before Wednesday's rainout. There's no guarantee he has overcome last year's command issues considering he dominated at Triple-A then as well, but at a position of desperation, you have to be proactive.
Deeper-league special here. Jeimer Candelario is only up in the big leagues because Jason Heyward is on the DL with a sprained finger, but while you'd think that injury would open the door for both Javier Baez and Ben Zobrist to play every day, Candelario has started two of three games since rejoining the big club and could get a chance to play every day, with Kris Bryant shifting to right field.
"I'm not opposed," manager Joe Maddon told MLB.com. "It's not an anomaly. We've seen him in spring training, we saw him last year. He can be a very, very good player. I'm very comfortable with him in the cleanup spot."
Candelario was killing it at Triple-A and has the on-base ability to thrive in this lineup, so in leagues where Aaron Altherr is yesterday's news, he might be tomorrow's.
